Chapter 100: Put them on their mettle

Chapter 100:

Put them on their mettle

Short note: Happy chapter 100! Can you believe it's already this long? We hope you have all enjoyed YMtK so far and continue to enjoy it!

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The mansion halls were dull, and the cream-colored walls felt dimmed even in the light of the afternoon sun from the floor to ceiling windows. The tile floors felt as if they had lost their luster as well as a figure walked out of a nearby room. It was a young maid.

The maid sighed, closing the door as quietly as possible as she balanced the tray of hardly touched food in her hand. The soup in the bowl sloshed with her movements, and she was quick to straighten her back as she brought the tray closer to her chest. Another maid, her hands holding a large basket of dirty laundry, stared at the other maid expectantly as she waited beside the door. Her expression was heavy.

"Well?" She asked, looking first at her friend, then the steaming tray of food with an expectant gaze.

"He just moved the food around. He didn't eat a thing." Both maids sighed in unison, their frustration lingering in the air.

"He'll have to eat eventually, right?" The maid with the basket said, moving the basket to her hip as she looked over the tray, becoming more and more frustrated.

"I don't know. Maybe we should report this to the duke?" The maid with the tray whispered nervously, gesturing for her friend to follow her as she began walking back to the kitchen. The two maids walked side by side, only allowing a moment of silence to pass between them as they made their way down the wide hallway.

"Will Duke Cyneric care though? He's never seemed to give his son much of a thought." The maid with the basket asked, her voice a little louder than a whisper now that they had put some distance between them and their young master's room.

"I'm not sure." The other maid mumbled, pouting a bit as she looked down at the tray, the bowl of meaty soup now lukewarm in its bowl.

"Oh, don't worry! You won't get yelled at for reporting it! There's nothing you can do if he won't eat." The maid with the basket said, using her elbow to bump her friend gently in the waist.

As the two maids walked down the hall, they were greeted by another one of their companions, "Guys! You won't believe it!" Another maid came running up the hall, whispering as loudly as possible as she waved at her friends. The two maids glanced at each other curiously, then quickened their pace to catch up to their friend.

"What happened?!" The maid with the tray whispered loudly as they met with their friend. She raised a hand as she caught her breath, taking in shallow breaths as she tried to speak.

"Did something happen?!" The maid with the basket cried, trying to coax their friend to say something to appease their piqued curiosity.

"The duke!" The maid gasped between breaths.

"The master? Did something happen to him?" The one maid said, her eyes widening as she adjusted the tray of food in her hand.

"No! Duke Godfreed!" The maid cried, exasperated as she tried to clarify.

"He came again! How many times has he come here now?!" The maid with the basket shouted, covering her mouth with her free hand.

"Shush!" The other two maids hissed, causing the maid with the basket to wince.

"Sorry!" She whispered.

"He just left. He asked to see the young master yet again. He made quite the scene when he was refused by the steward. The master personally came and spoke to him this time." The maid leaned forward, lowering her voice, "He had an audience with Duke Godfreed in his study. The duke did not look pleased at all, he just kept asking to see the young master."

"And the master refused to let him see the young master?" The maid with the basket asked, astounded. Even the most naive servant knew who Duke Godfreed was. As the cousin of the crown prince, anything he said or asked was as if it was coming from the crown prince himself. All the maids were shocked that the master himself had refused the duke's request to see the young master. To some, this would be considered seditious.

"And the duke just… left?" The maids all looked at each other, the worry on their faces mirroring each other.

"Maybe the master should have let the duke see the young master then?" The maid with the basket pondered aloud. The other maids gasped and looked at the newest maid in shock.

"Are you thick in the skull? Haven't you heard the rumors?" The maid with the tray asked angrily.

"Don't be mean. She hasn't been working here that long, remember?" The third maid said, chiding her old friend. She then turned to the maid with the basket, gesturing to her to lean forward, "You didn't hear this from us, understand?" The maid with the basket frantically nodded her head in agreement. The third maid glanced around, making sure there were no eavesdroppers present, then whispered, "There are rumors that, years ago, after the young master was brought into this house after living in the country for most of his youth, Duke Godfreed became obsessed with the young master during their first meeting together. So much so, that when the young master befriended a very important foreign noble's son, the young duke brutally murdered the foreign noble's son in a fit of rage."

"Oh my god!" The maid with the basket gasped as the two other maids looked at each other with knowing, worried looks, "But, those are just rumors, right? They're not real. Right?"

"Who knows." The maid with the food tray said with a shrug, "Everyone who worked here then was either paid into silence or fired, so there's no one who could say. Besides, it's been so long since it supposedly happened, so it's hard to say if it is real or not."

"But," The third maid cut in, wagging her finger, "About the time it supposedly happened, young Duke Godfreed was sent on an educational expedition to foreign countries. And he only just returned to the capital. It was supposedly to help him become a diplomat and advisor to the crown prince, but it probably was actually because they were trying to appease the family of the murdered child. And then there's the fact that, since he's returned, he's been pining for the young master's attention like a suitor."

"So he did murder someone! That's so scary! Why did you tell me that?!" The maid with the basket cried, shaking her basket at her friend in frustration and fear, "I won't sleep at all tonight!"

"Just don't get close to the young master, and you should be fine." The maid with the tray said, wiggling her tray at her friend as she spoke eerily. As the maid with the basket groaned, the other maids laughed.

"Let's get going, before the head maid catches us dallying." The third maid said, grabbing one of the handles of the laundry basket, "It looks heavy, so I'll give you a hand. Besides, I don't want to get caught empty handed with the head maid wandering around."

"Yeah, she might call Duke Godfreed to punish you if you do!" The maid with the tray said, spookily raising and lowering her voice as she spoke.

"Stop it!" The maid with the basket, now holding it with one hand as her friend stood beside her, holding the other side, "Seriously! I regret asking about it at all!"

The other two maids laughed, hurrying back to the kitchen while their friend cried out in annoyance.

…

It was already the start of a long Yursinean winter, and Cordelia, who had lived in the cold, poorly tempered northern terrain, the cold was something she was familiar with. Though, she found, it was not quite as bearable when you had no hand warmers to heat your hands, no fur jacket to warm you, and moreso no burning fire to warm your limbs after a cold, long day.

Cordelia had been alone for more than three days. For part of the trip, she closely followed the road, but after multiple travelers passed her by, giving her odd looks, she returned to the forest in fear. Their soulless eyes, glaring down at her, terrified her. She had no way of knowing who was simply a traveler, and who was someone sent to finish the job.

Cordelia was not even sure if the people pursuing her knew they had killed the wrong young woman, but she could not think about it for too long, since the mere thought of Victoria made her eyes water.

A horrible feeling of fear and hopelessness gnawed at Cordelia, but she refused to succumb to the feelings. Too much had been sacrificed. Cordelia would live, and she would report to her father what had been done to her.

Just wait, Willis. I'll make you pay. Cordelia liked being angry. It gave her shivering body some warmth, and it gave her a reason not to lie down in the soggy grass and wait for her inevitable death.

While continuing to fuel her anger, Cordelia found herself wanting nothing more than a set of dry clothes, a bath, and a warm meal. She fantasized about how her cold skin would prinkle merely by feeling the steam of a hot bath, or how her stomach would expand with all the warm food she would eat as soon as she was home. With the snacks prepared by Victoria being eaten, she was able to last the past three days with a partially-padded stomach, but today was the first day she ran out of rations.

What am I going to eat? Cordelia never needed to survive on her own. Servants were always at her beck and call, assisting her with the most menial of tasks, but now, those menial tasks were no longer small, and she was now fighting to survive in the forest of an unfamiliar country. As Cordelia was lost in thought, her stomach rumbled deeply, shocking her back to the present.

I need to find something to eat before I get any weaker. Her limbs had become heavy from fatigue and a lack of nutrients. If she became anemic, she could become too weak and die, and Cordelia would not allow Victoria's sacrifice to be in vain. She had to live and tell someone what had happened to her.

The young duchess walked farther down the forest path, looking and listening for anything that could fill her stomach. The berry bushes that she found familiar were empty, having already been picked clean by the hibernating animals, and the other plants were unfamiliar to her, making her wary of eating a poisonous plant.

With no plants to eat, Cordelia found herself wandering, finally coming across a river in the middle of the forest path. She had matches and other small survival items in her bag, but she was not sure if she could use them. All she could do was try. The waterflow was fast enough to allow the fish in the river to move at a fair pace. She could see the silhouettes of the fish, swimming lazily as they swam back and forth, searching for things to eat from the surface of the water.

As Cordelia watched the water, wishing for a meal to fall into her lap, a small fish flew out of the water, jumping in a beautiful arc. Its silver scales were glistening even under the cover of the cloudy sky. Strangely, however, the fish fell to the side of the river, flopping against the dry ground with some panic in its eyes, its gills gaping as it began to suffocate, unable to breathe in the human air surrounding it. The small fish desperately tried to hop back towards the water, but there was no chance for it to return, as Cordelia saw the fish and paused before she hurriedly grabbed it by the tail, using her other hand to hold down its slippery torso.

"I'm sorry." Cordelia said again and again, tears lining her eyes as she watched the fish struggle until it no longer could, finally falling limp in her grasp.

As the fall temperatures fell, the leaves had fallen to the ground, covering the dying grass with twigs and other tinder that would work well to start a fire. While Cordelia had not started her own fires in her bedroom fireplace, she often watched Victoria start them, and with what she remembered, she found a clear spot of dirt not far from the lake and assembled a batch of larger sticks into a box shape before she inserted a handful of small twigs and leaves in the middle, hoping to spread the fire to the larger sticks, just as Victoria had long ago.

She lit a match and threw it into the fire, anticipating for the fire to catch quickly, but all the match did was light some of the leaves, sending smoke up into the air and into her face, making her cough as she walked away for a moment, leaving the barely-started fire to burn out again. Reluctantly, she lit another match, this time, lighting more than one leaf in the fire to try to keep it going.

It took some time, and while the dead fish laid on the ground, she was able to finally get the fire started without smothering the flames. She fanned her hand and finally the fire grew large enough to spread, warming her face and body as she found another sharp ended stick, this time, using it to spear the dead fish she had just caught to roast over the fire.

Unsure of how to proceed, but hunger prodding her forward, she grabbed the stick with the roasted fish at the top. She put one finger on the fish's hot, smooth body, yanking her finger back with a shout as the scorching hot body burned her finger. As she put her sore finger in her mouth, she shook the cooked fish back and forth, trying to cool it faster.

"You bastard." Cordelia muttered, glaring at the stiff, fishy body that was soon to be her meal. Though Cordelia never typically swore, since it was unladylike, she enjoyed how the foul language rolled off her tongue.

After a few more waves, she trepidly touched the fish again, this time with a different finger. The fish was cool enough to eat, though still hot enough to warm her cold stomach.

Cordelia pulled the fish close to her and took a bite, grating her teeth against the stiff body. The fins refused to give way to the meaty flesh below, and Cordelia pulled the fish back, annoyed.

She stopped, thinking back to when she was home. Though fish was not a common meal in the Vartien kingdom, she did have it on occasion. Usually, there was a line cut through the bottom of the fish she had eaten, from tail to head. Cordelia glanced around her, looking for anything sharp to help her.

My hair pins! Cordelia thought to herself as she brought a hand up to her hair, carefully removing one of the needles keeping her messy hair in some semblance of order. Thank goodness the guards were too stupid to remove these when they arrested me.

Carefully, Cordelia flipped the fish over and made a clean cut down the fish, scooping out the innards without so much as a blink of her eyelashes. She then feasted, sighing in joy as she ripped at the soft, warm meat with her teeth.

Before long, she had eaten her fill, sighing as she put the emptied carcass to the side and leaned back. The fire popped and crackled, the hot heat warming her shivering body.

I should dry my clothes. And when was the last time I took a bath? Cordelia turned her head as she lifted up her arm to her nose, then recoiled in horror as she sniffed herself. My goodness, how long have I smelled like this?! I should at least wipe myself off with some river water. When I do get to a village, I don't want them to think I am some sort of animal!

Cordelia picked up the remains of her meal without a care, throwing them back into the river. She then removed her dress and spread it out on a rock near her makeshift fire to dry. She glanced down at her dirty arms and legs, where dried blood crusted and flaked in itchy streams.

With a shake of her head, she stood at the river's edge, scooping the icy water and running it down her arms, using her callousing hands to scrub the stubborn dirt and blood streaks. After her arms were clean, though aching from the intense scrubbing and cold, she repeated her actions on her legs. It was only after that was done that she finally looked down at the rippling reflection in the river of her face.

The once posh, beautiful Cordelia was gone, now replaced with a messy, frizzy haired, dirty young woman. The respectable, elegant young lady was gone, replaced with a wild woman who killed and ate a fish. Yet, as Cordelia stared at her unfamiliar face, she found her reflection's eyes were alight.

Imagine if Mother saw me like this. Cordelia thought to herself with a laugh, She'd faint! As Cordelia thought of her mother, then her father, the twinkle in her eye faded. She sat at the river's edge, bringing her knees to her chest as she hugged her arms around her legs.

Mother, father, don't worry. I'm okay. I'll be home soon. Cordelia thought to herself, her pride of catching and preparing her own meal quickly being replaced with sorrow. Suddenly, a splash of water licked at her toes as fish leapt out of the water, wiggling its body until it landed back in the water, stunning the quiet Cordelia. She gasped in surprise and awe, watching as another fish followed suit.

"Keep doing that, and I'll be forced to make you into a meal!" Cordelia shouted at the fish. She was unable to fight back the smile that blossomed on her tired, cracked lips.

"Oh well, I should check on the fire." Cordelia rose to her feet, wiping off the back of her graying, stained underdress. She stood and went over to her other little creation, a marvel of her own handiwork. Cordelia felt her pride swell as she looked at all she had accomplished.

These were things a lady of her standing would never dream of doing.

But to survive, she had to, and she found herself, though tired, cold, and afraid, inspired by what she had accomplished so far, and the freedom that came with her survival.

A shiver reminded her to put her clothes back on, a breeze seeping through her thin underdress to her skin. She quickly grabbed up her dress, the front mostly dry, and threw it over her head, fumbling from the cold as she buttoned the dress.

As Cordelia stared into the fire, a serene lull took over her. Now that she was full and warm from the crackling fire, for the first time since this all started, she felt somewhat safe. Safe enough to close her eyes for a few minutes.

A little nap couldn't hurt. Cordelia thought to herself as she laid down on the grass near the fire, the long weeds cushioning her body. She closed her eyes and, for the first time in days, quickly fell asleep.

…

Willis sighed, closing the book that laid open on his lap, untouched for the last hour. He was trying to remain calm, but all of his plans were falling apart around him.

Where had it begun to go wrong? He wondered to himself, his hand cupping his chin as he gazed forward at the shadows in front of him. I've worked so hard for so many years, but it doesn't make a damn bit of difference now. And now I am receiving warnings from the Vartien kingdom? How laughable. Just they wait, soon this kingdom will be mine, and those who were nipping at my heels will bow down before me.

Yes, his plans to eliminate some of the stronger bridal candidates had backfired, but he had effectively used the unfortunate death of one of his countrywomen to his advantage. A true leader would have never allowed such a horrible death to happen. And he was able to dispose of Cordelia, who had quickly turned into a nuisance with her constant threats of turning on him. His own countrywomen were ineffective to him, but the longer he stayed in the Yursear kingdom, the more he felt as a true Yursinean citizen, and identifying as such would benefit him far greater than the Vartien Kingdom ever could.

Of course, there was the distracted crown prince, Clarence. Whatever he had found a few days ago was keeping him occupied. So much so, he did not hear the constant complaints of the nobles, leaving his mother, the queen, to lead the country in a fragile political climate. A mutiny could be happening under his nose and that stupid crown prince would have no idea until it was far too late. And with the current king on his dying breath, it would be very soon this distracted prince would be taking the throne. The queen could only protect the prince for so long, and when she lost her power, Willis would be waiting.

And, if all else fails, I have my trump card. Willis thought to himself with a smirk, putting his leather-bound book to the side as he rose to his feet. I have to keep all the players in line until it's time.

"I should go see my trump card." Willis said aloud in the empty room, reaching down to grab his overcoat from the armchair he was resting on. He gracefully slid his arms into his jacket before he adjusted it, "There's no more time for mistakes."

A carriage had already been prepared for Willis's journey. Though, his destination had long since changed. As he walked through the halls and out the main door of the palace, he was greeted by various servants, all respectively bowing their heads to the king's top advisor. Seeing the servants' obedience, he was pleased.

"Sir Willis." The coach bowed as he opened the carriage door and allowed the noble man inside, closing the carriage door behind him as he stepped back into the front of the carriage, taking the leather reins in his hands.

"To Duke Cyneric's Residence." Willis waved his hand, his dismissive attitude familiar to the coach. "Don't dally, hurry there."

The carriage quickly rolled forward, leading towards the slowly opened gates as Willis stared out the window at the palace, his snake-like eyes narrowed greedily.

…

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We're up (late)! Sorry, I almost fell asleep without posting... today's been a long day, so I almost completely forgot to post... Huge thanks to Hunny for killing it this week! I would have liked to do something a little more special for chapter 100, but I'm low on energy, so focusing on just writing was enough for me ahaha

I appreciate all of your sweet comments and views, as they do make a difference for us ♥ It's helped me finally break into 11 chapters (65 pages so far) of Misted Winds~! That one will be more like a straight-up horror, and I love horror in all novels, but especially BL novels, as I feel like it's sorely lacking, and most of the horror is infinite flow where I would love to see some more horror in a singular world if that makes sense... If you like yanderes and being confined to a creepy, small town by a group of cultist, it may be your cup of tea once it's done :D

See a lovely sketch of Meredith I drew as well as a special 100 chapter illustration on my kofi page~ (ko-fi.com/phifumo)! Thank you all so much, and I'll be off to bed.... D: